Cynthia Coffman (politician)

Cynthia Honssinger Coffman (born August 26, 1961) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Colorado. A Republican, she was the elected Attorney General of Colorado in 2014, serving a single term from 2015 to 2019.

Cynthia Coffman
38th Attorney General of Colorado
In office
January 13, 2015 – January 8, 2019
GovernorJohn Hickenlooper
Preceded byJohn Suthers
Succeeded byPhil Weiser
Chief Deputy Attorney General of Colorado[1]
In office
March 2005 – January 2015
GovernorJohn Suthers
Personal details
Born
Cynthia S. Honssinger[2]

(1961-08-26) August 26, 1961[3]
Lebanon, Missouri, U.S.[3]
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2005; div. 2017)​
EducationUniversity of Missouri (BA)
Georgia State University (JD)

Coffman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Colorado in 2018.[4][5][6]

Early life and career

Coffman graduated from the University of Missouri and received her law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law. She began working in the office of the Georgia Attorney General in 1993. In 1996, she became a lawyer for the 1996 Summer Olympics, held in Atlanta. Following the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Coffman served as a liaison to the families of the victims.[7]

Coffman moved to Colorado in 1997, and worked for the legislative council of the Colorado Legislature.[7] She served as legal counsel for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from 1999 through 2004. She then served as legal counsel for Bill Owens, the Governor of Colorado, from 2004 to 2005, and as chief deputy attorney general under John Suthers, the Attorney General of Colorado from 2004 through 2014.[8] In 2012, Law Week Colorado named Coffman their Best Public Sector Lawyer.[9]

Attorney General of Colorado

In 2014, Coffman ran in the election for Attorney General of Colorado. She faced Mark Waller for the Republican Party nomination. She received Suthers' endorsement.[10] After receiving the majority of support of Colorado delegates,[11] Waller withdrew from the race.[12][13] She received financial backing from the Republican Attorneys General Association Colorado PAC.[14] Coffman defeated Democratic nominee Don Quick 54%-40% in the general election.[8]

As attorney general, Coffman signed Colorado onto a lawsuit which sought to roll back the Clean Power Plan.[15] Coffman also led the state's lawsuit against Boulder County over that county's drilling moratorium.[16]

In 2018, instead of seeking reelection as Attorney General, Coffman chose to run for governor of Colorado. She failed to win the Republican nomination, and was succeeded as attorney general by Democrat Phil Weiser who defeated Republican George Brauchler for the post. Coffman's term ended on January 9, 2019.[16]

Personal life

In 2005, she had her second marriage to Mike Coffman, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The couple divorced in June 2017.[17]

Electoral history
Colorado Attorney General Republican Primary Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cynthia Coffman 1,002,626 51.43
Democratic Don Quick 826,182 42.38
Libertarian David Williams 120,745 6.19

See also
  • List of female state attorneys-general in the United States

References
  1. https://iaals.du.edu/profile/cynthia-coffman
  2. Association, Colorado Bar (1998). Colorado Lawyer, Volume 27. Colorado Bar Association.
  3. Hubbell, Martindale (September 1998). Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware (Volume 4 - 1998). Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN 9781561603244.
  4. Paul, Jesse (November 8, 2017). "Cynthia Coffman is running for governor of Colorado, adding to long list of GOP primary candidates". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  5. Hernandez, Esteban (April 18, 2018). "After state assemblies, here's who's still running for governor of Colorado". Spirited Media. Denverite. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  6. Paul, Jesse (January 8, 2019). "Cynthia Coffman once had a bright political future. Here's what Colorado's GOP attorney general has to say as she leaves office". Civil Media Company. Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  7. "Chief Deputy Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman tells CCRW why she's running to replace her boss". villagerpublishing.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  8. "Cynthia Coffman easily wins Colorado AG's race". denverpost.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  9. "Cynthia Coffman tapped 'Best Public Sector Lawyer'". coloradostatesman.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. "John Suthers to nominate Cynthia Coffman for attorney general at state GOP assembly". The Spot. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  11. Kurtis Lee (April 14, 2014). "Cynthia Coffman amasses 69 percent of GOP delegate support, almost keeps Mark Waller off ballot". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  12. Eli Stokols (April 28, 2014). "Waller ends campaign for attorney general, calls for GOP to unify behind Coffman". KDVR. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  13. Anthony Cotton (April 28, 2014). "Rep. Mark Waller, citing party unity, withdraws from attorney general race". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  14. "2014 Elections: Republican Buy TV for Cynthia Coffman". At the Races. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  15. Elliott, Dan (January 30, 2019). "With Democrats in charge, Colorado now backs clean air rule". Associated Press.
  16. Paul, Jesse (January 8, 2019). "Cynthia Coffman once had a bright political future. Here's what Colorado's GOP attorney general has to say as she leaves office". Colorado Sun.
  17. Paul, Jesse (June 19, 2017). "Cynthia and Mike Coffman have filed for divorce after 12 years of marriage". The Denver Post.
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Suthers		 Attorney General of Colorado
2015–2019		 Succeeded by
Phil Weiser
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